Disposable sanitary absorbent pads for babies, adults, and hospitalized patients are not new.
The disposable baby diaper business, started by Procter & Gamble 25 years ago, now exceeds sales of 3 billion dollars per year. "LUVS", "PAMPERS", "HUGGIES", and a plethora of private label products are well-known. Literally hundreds of patents have issued on various aspects of the apparatus, process and product.
Within the last five years, the market for disposable sanitary absorbent pads for incontinent adults has grown tremendously and presently exceeds 1/4 of a billion dollars per year.
Patents illustrative of the products and the market are the Duncan U.S. Pat. No. 3,180,335 and the Buell U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,003.
The present invention relates particularly to a superior product, and the construction and process for providing a more leak-proof diaper or pad. Jonnson & Johnson's EPA No. 104906, Unicharm's Jap. Pat. No. SH060-7709, Kimberly-Clark's Fricke U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,629,039 and 3,758,363, Miller U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,167, National Starch's Puletti U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,847 and Procter & Gamble's Buell U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,071, are relevant.
The Johnson & Johnson patent is directed particularly to providing a "breathable" backsheet which is water impervious, but also permits a passage of air.
Kimberly-Clark's patents disclose the process and apparatus for applying a thin blue film of polyethylene to an absorbent pad.
The Miller patent shows how a nonwoven web can be totslly impregnated around its entire periphery to provide a fluid-tight border. Puletti is limited to an "end-dam".
The Procter & Gamble patent is directed particularly to a leak-proof perimeter construction which has a series of compacted portions.